BGC Draft Strategic Plan 2023-2028

Dear Members,

The Board have completed a draft strategic plan for member review and feedback.

Click HERE to dowload the entire document. Please forward feedback to our General Manager- Des Shearer before the 15th June to gm@bunburygolfclub.com.au

Following the election of the Board In 2022 it was recognised that a new Development Plan was required to replace the current plan which had been extended to 2023. Recognising that the majority of the previous plan had been largely achieved a new plan would continue to support the Club’s progress forward in a structured way.

Our strategic plan is the culmination of a process which commenced in August 2022 which included a series of thought-provoking ‘Think Tank’ sessions which were well attended by members. After careful research and assessment of current initiatives and previous goals, we completed the strategic plan with a new purpose, passion and values statement.

The new Five-Year Development Plan was constructed over the first half of 2023 with extensive input from
members and staff. Key Development Areas (KDA) were identified and actions were developed for each KDA.

The opening paragraph of the plan provided the following directional statement.

“The purpose of this development plan is to provide a structured path forward over the next five years for
the Bunbury Golf Club. It is a roadmap for the current and future Boards to ensure development is not ad
hoc and that it is achieved in a financially responsible manner.”

This strategic plan provides the framework and serves as an important guide to help the club succeed in the face of ongoing challenges and finding opportunities for strengthening our club. Golf in Australia generally witnessed somewhat of a ‘boom’ period throughout 2021 – 2022 due in the main to advent of the Covid 19 Global Pandemic and golf was one activity that was able to continue to be enjoyed by Members and by the public. The impact of ‘Fortress WA’ also contributed to a concentration of holiday makers remaining within the State and far greater patronage of our course and facilities than had been the case prior to this.

As things return to a greater sense of ‘normality’ this boom period can be expected to decline and therefore it is essential that our Club takes a flexible approach to encouraging membership in changing times and remaining adaptable to meet new challenges as they arise. Golf WA along with other governing bodies has embraced the development, participation and progression of women in golf and fostering the idea that any form of golf, whether this be the use of practice facilities, mini golf, foot golf, night golf, junior golf etc are all activities that will boost the involvement of people in the game of golf generally.

The introduction of Social Golf and Lifestyle golf memberships has seen an increase in membership of BGC and these sorts of flexible approaches to membership and encouraging involvement must continue into the future.

The new five-year plan should be seen as a natural follow on from the current plan and will therefore focus on a range of strategies and objectives across all areas of BGC operations to maintain our place as the leading regional golf club in WA.

The new plan will continue to look at ways to reduce debt. Income has been boosted over the last two to three years as the result of increased use of club facilities due to the global pandemic referred to earlier as well as Government payments and incentives introduced by State and Federal Government to support businesses impacted by various developments due to Covid restrictions. The refurbishment of clubhouse facilities has also resulted in far greater use of facilities for weddings, and other events which has also seen a steady boost to Club finances following the general meeting on 26 March 2018 that approved the borrowing of $400k to complete the major renovations to the clubhouse.

A number of the key initiatives/actions will be ongoing with the timing of others being dependent upon the priorities set by the Board and the resources required for completion.

There is no set time frame for this plan, instead our focus will be on continuously modifying our strategic focus areas in response to changes in our environment. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this process. Your contributions have been appreciated.

Rob Littlewood
PRESIDENT